In general, cutting guides are used in combination with a tool to cut material along a particular line or path. One type of cutting guide for use in cutting fabric or paper has a channel or groove for receiving a single blade of a cutting tool. For example, the cutting channel may have a width for receiving either the blade of a utility knife, or a rotary blade of a roller cutter, or a foot to which the blade of the cutter is secured. In particular, the cutting channel is configured to snugly receive the blade or the foot of the cutting tool to thereby guide the blade as the blade cuts the fabric supported by the upper surface of the cutting guide.
Conventional cutting guides are not suited for use with a pair of electric scissors having an oscillating shearing blade overlapping a stationary counter-blade. The uniform-width channel of a conventional cutting guide is not configured to both receive each blade of the scissors and prevent the blades from deviating laterally from the cut path. That is, the cutting channel will not snugly receive the stationary blade to guide the blade and allow the shearing blade to enter the channel without interfering with the movement of the blade. Further, if only the stationary blade is received in the channel and the shearing blade never enters the channel during use, then the cutting edge of the stationary blade will be positioned above the support surface of the cutting guide. In this instance, the fabric must be lifted off the support surface to be cut by the scissors. Lifting the fabric off the support surface leads to an imprecise cut.